M40 recoilless rifle
The M40 recoilless rifle is a lightweight, portable, crew-served 105mm weapon intended primarily as an anti-tank weapon made in the US. The weapon is commonly described as being 106mm, but it is in fact 105mm; the 106mm designation was designed to prevent confusion with the incompatible 105mm ammuniton from the failed M27. It could also be employed in an antipersonnel role with the use of the antipersonnel-tracer flechette round. It can be fired primarily from a wheeled ground mount. The air-cooled, breech-loaded, single-shot rifle fired fixed ammunition. It was designed for direct firing only, and sighting equipment for this purpose was furnished with each weapon. The M27 recoilless rifle was a 105mm weapon developed in the early 1950s and fielded in the Korean War. Although a recoilless rifle of this caliber had been a concept since the Second World War, the weapon was hurriedly produced with the onset of the Korean War. The speed with which it was developed and fielded resulted in problems with reliability caused by trunnions that were mounted too far to the rear. The M27 was also considered too heavy by the US Army and had a disappointing effective range due to the lack of a spotting rifle. Taking the M27 as a basis for a new design, the Army developed an improved version of the M27 that was in 1955 type-designated the M40 106mm recoilless rifle. Originally along with its type-designation it was also given the official name BAT for Battalion Anti-Tank gun, but that was soon dropped. Although unsuitable for military purposes, M27 recoilless rifles were used to trigger controlled avalanches at ski resorts and mountain passes in the US. The M40 primarily saw action during the Vietnam War and was later replaced by the BGM-71 TWO anti-tank missile system. The weapon wa also used by anti-communist forces in Angola mounted on Land Rovers. __FORCETOC__ Description The M40 is shaped like a long tube with an M8 .50 cal spotting rifle above. The spotting rifle fires a round that flies like the 106mm round and gives off a puff of smoke on impact with the target. On the left side, there is an elevating wheel in the center of the which is the trigger wheel used to fine adjust the elevation and at the same time firing the spotting rifle when pulled, and the gun when pushed. The mounting is a tripod, but the front leg has a castoring wheel. On top of the mount is a traverse wheel. On the center of the traverse wheel is a locking wheel, when the wheel is down, the rifle is locked in traverse, and can only be moved right and left with the traverse wheel. When the wheel is raised, the rifle can be traversed by hand. Austria produced a two-wheeled mount for the M40. The whole mounting can be placed on an M151 Jeep for mobile use. it also has been mounted on Land Rover Defenders, M113s, Mercedes-Benz G-Wagens, HMMWVs, Toyota Land Cruisers, AIL Storms, and M274 Mechanical Mules. They were also used on US Navy minesweepers during Operation Market Time in Vietnam. A special vehicle called Ontos carried six M40s. A version specific to the T195E5 mount, the M40A1C, was used. It was used only by the US Marine Corps. Japan produced a self-propelled gun type called the Type 60 which carried two side by side. Some Pakistani M113s have a dual mounting. The M40 was a very successful export item and continues to be used by many countries worldwide. Ammunition Ammunition for the 105mm rifle was issued as one-piece fixed cartridges. The term "fixed" means that the projectile and the cartridge case are crimped together. This ensures correct alignment of the projectile and the cartridge case. It also permits faster loading because the projectile and the cartridge case are loaded as one unit. The rear end of the cartridge case is perforated, to allow the propelland gas to escape through the vented breech, thus neutralizing recoil. The projectiles used are pre-engraved, that is, the rotating bands are cut to engaged the rifled bore. Types of ammunition included HEAT, High Explosive Plastic-Tracer (HEP-T), canister, High Explosive Anti Personnel and the M368 dummy round which could not be fired and was used for crew drill. The original US HEAT round penetrated more than 400mm of armor. Near the end of the M40's service life, both Austria and Sweden produced HEAT rounds for the weapon capable of penetrating more than 700mm of armor. Category:Weapons Category:NATO Weaponry Category:U.S. Military